Soyuz_TMA-16

Soyuz TMA-16

Soyuz TMA-16

2009 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS

The Soyuz TMA-16 (Russian: Союз TMA-16) was a crewed flight to and from the International Space Station (ISS). It transported two members of the Expedition 21 crew[1] and a Canadian entrepreneur from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS. TMA-16 was the 103rd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching in 1967. The launch of Soyuz TMA-16 marked the first time since 1969 that three Soyuz craft were in orbit simultaneously.

Quick Facts Mission type, Operator ...

Guy Laliberté, founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil, was a Space tourist aboard TMA-16 during its flight to the ISS, paying approximately US$35 million for his seat through the American firm Space Adventures.[4] He returned on board the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft left as an emergency vehicle during that previous flight. The Soyuz TMA-16 flight spacecraft flew back to Earth with only two crew members.

Crew

More information Launching Crew Member, Landing Crew Member ...

Backup Crew

More information Position, Launching Crew Member ...

Mission highlights

Soyuz TMA-16 Lands
Soyuz TMA-16 lifts off
The Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station
Soyuz TMA-16 during the relocation to the zenith-facing port of the Poisk module.

Soyuz TMA-16 was docked to the ISS at the aft port of the Zvezda module. On January 21, 2010, cosmonaut Suraev and Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams relocated the spacecraft to the zenith-facing port of the Poisk module.[7] The Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft undocked from the aft end of the Zvezda service module at 5:03 a.m. EST and backed away to a distance of about 100 feet from the space station. Undocking occurred as the station flew about 213 miles high off the southwest coast of Africa. Re-docking occurred at 5:24 a.m. EST after Suraev fired the Soyuz maneuvering thrusters to fly halfway around the orbiting space station and line up with the Poisk module.

Spaceflight participant Guy Laliberté landed aboard Soyuz TMA-14 after approximately 12 days in space while Surayev and Williams landed aboard TMA-16 in Kazakhstan on March 18, 2010.

Space tourism status

Soyuz TMA-16 was the final flight of a space tourist to the International Space Station for more than a decade. With the imminent retirement of the Space Shuttle and the expansion of the station to six crew members, all Soyuz crew positions for the foreseeable future were to be occupied by Expedition crew[8] until another crewed spacecraft such as Dragon 2 or Starliner was available to service the International Space Station.

References

  1. [1]
    NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering - NASA press release - 08-306 - Nov. 21, 2008
  2. [2]
    NASA. "Consolidated Launch Manifest". NASA. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
  3. [3]
    McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  4. [4]
    "Circus tycoon Guy Laliberté becomes first clown in space". London: guardian.co.uk. Associated Press. October 1, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  5. [5]
    NASA HQ (November 21, 2008). "NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering". NASA. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  6. [6]
    Жена главы компании Intel готовится стать космонавтом Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  7. [7]
    Stephen Clark (January 21, 2010). "Crew shifts Soyuz capsule to new station docking port". Spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  8. [8]
    AFP (November 13, 2008). "Russia sees end of road for space tourism". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
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